Dartmouth Rolls Out New Learning Management System

Dartmouth College has selected a new learning management system for campus-wide deployment. The selection follows an extensive 18-month review and pilot program.

Dartmouth is adopting Canvas, from Instructure. Members of the school's faculty began using the open source system this fall. Additional courses will be added in the winter of 2014 with full roll out to be completed by winter 2015.

The selection process began June 2012 with an assessment led by a project team from the Academic and Campus Technology Services department and the LMS Steering Committee. Evaluation began January 2013, with three systems. The evaluation included mini-courses in each system, "sandbox" environments for additional testing and a technical review.

Final selection was made following a pilot program that ran during the spring 2013 semester. According to Instructure, the committee wanted a cloud-based system that ran on mobile devices and included audio and video capabilities; notification and communication tools; and a user-friendly interface.

"The transition to Canvas represents an opportunity for positive disruption and underscores Dartmouth's ongoing commitment to deliver a superior classroom learning experience," said Joshua Kim, director of digital learning initiatives at the institution, in a prepared statement from Instructure. Kim also served on the school's LMS Steering Committee. "Canvas provides our faculty with a vehicle to teach their courses in the way they envision, and our students with a modern tool that suits their rapid pace of learning."

Dartmouth College, located in Hanover, New Hampshire, is a private Ivy League research university. With an enrollment of just over 6,000 students, Dartmouth is the smallest school in the Ivy League system.

About the Author

Kanoe Namahoe is online editor for 1105 Media's Education Group. She can be reached at knamahoe@1105media.com.